This invention relates to an apparatus or machine for attaching an electrical contact to the end of an electrical conductor or cable, and more particularly to a semi-automatic device for crimping electrical contacts to electrical conductors.
Complex electrical equipment requires many thousands of electrical conductors to be interconnected to various electrical components. In most instances, these conductors are connected to connectors or contacts and the necessity has arisen for fast operating, reliable equipment or machines for attaching the contacts to the conductors. This attachment requirement becomes critical when the conductors and contacts are small in size due to the difficulties in handling the conductors and contacts. Crimping has become a widely used method of attaching the contacts to the terminal ends of the conductors or cables. Large numbers of such crimp connections are currently being made for instrumentation and control circuitry where contacts have a wide variety of conformations and where accurately dimensioned and relatively small contacts are required securely attached to their respective electrical conductors. The contacts most often vary in size and shape and, usually being small, are relatively difficult to handle. Thus, it has become desirable to provide a feeding and crimping apparatus or machine of the character described which is selectively changeable for accommodating a variety of contact conformations and which facilitates the handling of such contacts, orienting the contacts and advancing the contacts to an attachment or crimping mechanism. The machine must be such as to combine high production speed, consistent reliability, and flexibility for crimp terminated contacts.